Note: My conceit here is assuming the role of Otto Günsche, Der Fuehrer's adjutant for the last years of the war. Pretty much a what if, as I'm hoping to be in a bombed out bunker in 6 years, but we'll see. He begins as a low-level officer. For reference I am playing The Federalist's mod Total War, v3 for 1.3, which is listed as being designed for a challenging German game. We'll see! 
I am at VH/Aggressive/FoW=on (I like aggressive as Furious seems to make the AI do stupid stuff). So far it's definitely a challenge, as you begin on Sept 1, 1939 with only 200 of each resource, including supply and oil, and your air units are very low strength. It also is nice in that movement rates are much reduced, and so much more realistic. Anyway, on with the show.
The Diary of Otto Günsche
Sept 1, 1939- Today was the start of the long awaited moment! In the early dawn hours we struck at our mortal enemy Poland and a swift victory will surely be ours!
Sept 9, 1939- OKH was unable to explain why our Luftwaffe was in such disarray on the eve of battle and all but sealed OKW as the High Command for war prosecution. Our poorly prepared and supplied Luftwaffe weakens our Blitzkrieg and gives the Poles much relief. More than one pistol-shot is heard at Luftwaffe headquarters, and Goring himself is demoted to Wing Commander. But he is such a sycophant that he will surely turn up in command again.
September 14, 1939- Our noose around England's neck is broken; our sub flotillas are destroyed and our surface fleet pushed back into safe harbor. The oceans belong to our enemies and they make us pay. The DAK supply line is under constant attack, and we are beset on all sides by low creatures. Our prayers our with Rommel and our starving soldiers in Africa.
September 28, 1939- Our glorious leader put his faith in Field Marshal von Weichs and it paid off handsomely, though not without risks! A countrywide pincers movement netted all of Poland in our bag and allowed us to dictate the pace of battle. That pace gave us the East in but 4 weeks, and the Allies grow frightened! Now for France and an end to this war.
October 1, 1939- Norway insults us by siding with our enemies. Their time will come. We also give part of Poland to the Russian animals, like scraps to a dog. It is not a popular decision, but I accept it as expedient. If you don't give a dog scraps it might bite you when you least expect it. They did not even have the bravery to cross the border until we had made it safe for them. Perhaps they had expected us to carry them across on our backs? They however have the food and raw materials we need now that we are under blockade, and thus must be accorded some leeway.
October 18, 1939- France has gambled all on the Maginot Line and we shall win the bet. Our forces smash through Luxemburg and advance quickly. The French are done.
October 23, 1939- The filthy bastards. The Maginot Line was not all they had, no fools they. Metz was like the trenches all over again, and we were shattered. If you are not prepared for calamity it is so much worse. The cream of our Mechanized and Panzer forces were mauled, and casualties among the 12 divisions approached 80%. We shall not put our faith in Guderian and his promises of Lightning war anytime soon. Achtung Panzer indeed! The implacable Allied Air make the retreat a nightmare, and only the valiant efforts of our fighter squadrons allow us to salvage anything from the retreat. Another way must be found.
October 25, 1939- Our focus turns to the other Low Countries which impede us, and today our armies strike them at every turn. Without the fortifications of the French, their fate is sealed.
November 22, 1939- We burst through to Sedan and it was as if our prayers had been answered. Strong French forces in Lille and Reims but in Amiens was but a screen, which we easily brushed aside. Keitel was strongly against a crossing of the Seine, but the Fuehrer ordered Kleist and the 1st Armee across to seize Paris.
November 29, 1939- The French are mad. Once Paris was seized the government capitulated completely, and Petain was installed as head of what remains of France, with its capitol in Vichy. But the foolish French army refuses to put down arms for the most part, and so what seemed to be the most expedient solution to avoid bloodshed will instead result in more. Today the Italians join us and are a welcome ally in our struggle.
December 27, 1939- Even on Christmas Day they refused to stop fighting, but this evening the last of the French army was destroyed in Cholet. Without supplies their effectiveness was reduced, and in the Troyes pocket alone 34 French Divisions were crushed by a single Armee. Now it is time to rest and refit, and to try and make the English see reason in our common cause of Anti-Bolshivism. The Belgians and Hollanders refuse our legitimate conquests and have set up governments-in-exile in Africa and the South Pacific. Such stubborn foolishness.
December 28, 1939- Mussolini the fool! The smoke has not yet cleared from the French battlefield and he declares war on Greece! Are we to fly there on angel wings? A man barely capable of winning in Ethiopia grows suddenly brave at the worst time, and it is Germany that must deliver the impossible again.
January 29, 1940- In the West von Weichs commands a defense of 15 divisions against any British foolishness; currently this amounts to only harrassment bombing and is laughable. In the East Paulus commands a defense of 23 divisions against Stalin treachery, who is still digesting his Baltic meal. But with this stripping of forces, Rundstedt in the south has 60 divisions to resolve the Greek situation. There will not be a repeat of France and not enough divisions. The Fuehrer has decreed that Yugoslavia must yield to our needs for access to attack Greece, and if they will not grant this then we will stomp them flat on our way to Athens and give ourselves a Mediterranean port as a present. I suspect Rommel will be ecstatic at no longer relying on an Italian supply line, though with 9 divisions in Tobruk it seems all but secure at this point.
February 8, 1940- The Yogoslavians not only refuse to grant us passage, they give it to our Greek enemies. War is on their heads, not ours.
February 19, 1940- The battle for the mountains of Ljubljana raged for 6 days in the snow and ice, but today we drove out the last of the defenders. Even outnumbering the enemy 5 to 1 it was a near thing, and several corps must be withdrawn to rest and refit. General Student's Mountain Corps led the attack and thus suffered heavily; at last report his divisions had suffered nearly 50% casualties. Let us hope that this was the worst we will suffer in this campaign.
March 19, 1940- The Fuehrer is very angry at Mussolini. Today we annexed Yugoslavia after hard fighting and 53,000 casualties, yet the rewards were a port in the Med and the much needed Tirana oil fields. Somehow that pompous windbag managed to claim the one area we desired above all others in that region, and sits there like a fat child eating a candy. The Fuehrer can do nothing, as we need Mussolini to supply Rommel and keep the Allied navies busy. A small price to pay in that respect, but oil is still in short supply and we have but a weeks reserve. We need more.
April 2, 1940- The fight in Greece goes well, though all our work is for the Italians benefit only. There was some Croatian rumblings for an independent state, but they were quickly dispelled. To give up the hard-won ports is sheer madness, as today inaugerated the Split-Benghazi supply line across the Med! No longer are we reliant on Italian schedules, and we now are committed to supporting a North African campaign. Can Mid-east oil be far behind? For the sake of our armored units, I hope not.
I am at VH/Aggressive/FoW=on (I like aggressive as Furious seems to make the AI do stupid stuff). So far it's definitely a challenge, as you begin on Sept 1, 1939 with only 200 of each resource, including supply and oil, and your air units are very low strength. It also is nice in that movement rates are much reduced, and so much more realistic. Anyway, on with the show.
The Diary of Otto Günsche
Sept 1, 1939- Today was the start of the long awaited moment! In the early dawn hours we struck at our mortal enemy Poland and a swift victory will surely be ours!
Sept 9, 1939- OKH was unable to explain why our Luftwaffe was in such disarray on the eve of battle and all but sealed OKW as the High Command for war prosecution. Our poorly prepared and supplied Luftwaffe weakens our Blitzkrieg and gives the Poles much relief. More than one pistol-shot is heard at Luftwaffe headquarters, and Goring himself is demoted to Wing Commander. But he is such a sycophant that he will surely turn up in command again.
September 14, 1939- Our noose around England's neck is broken; our sub flotillas are destroyed and our surface fleet pushed back into safe harbor. The oceans belong to our enemies and they make us pay. The DAK supply line is under constant attack, and we are beset on all sides by low creatures. Our prayers our with Rommel and our starving soldiers in Africa.
September 28, 1939- Our glorious leader put his faith in Field Marshal von Weichs and it paid off handsomely, though not without risks! A countrywide pincers movement netted all of Poland in our bag and allowed us to dictate the pace of battle. That pace gave us the East in but 4 weeks, and the Allies grow frightened! Now for France and an end to this war.
October 1, 1939- Norway insults us by siding with our enemies. Their time will come. We also give part of Poland to the Russian animals, like scraps to a dog. It is not a popular decision, but I accept it as expedient. If you don't give a dog scraps it might bite you when you least expect it. They did not even have the bravery to cross the border until we had made it safe for them. Perhaps they had expected us to carry them across on our backs? They however have the food and raw materials we need now that we are under blockade, and thus must be accorded some leeway.
October 18, 1939- France has gambled all on the Maginot Line and we shall win the bet. Our forces smash through Luxemburg and advance quickly. The French are done.
October 23, 1939- The filthy bastards. The Maginot Line was not all they had, no fools they. Metz was like the trenches all over again, and we were shattered. If you are not prepared for calamity it is so much worse. The cream of our Mechanized and Panzer forces were mauled, and casualties among the 12 divisions approached 80%. We shall not put our faith in Guderian and his promises of Lightning war anytime soon. Achtung Panzer indeed! The implacable Allied Air make the retreat a nightmare, and only the valiant efforts of our fighter squadrons allow us to salvage anything from the retreat. Another way must be found.
October 25, 1939- Our focus turns to the other Low Countries which impede us, and today our armies strike them at every turn. Without the fortifications of the French, their fate is sealed.
November 22, 1939- We burst through to Sedan and it was as if our prayers had been answered. Strong French forces in Lille and Reims but in Amiens was but a screen, which we easily brushed aside. Keitel was strongly against a crossing of the Seine, but the Fuehrer ordered Kleist and the 1st Armee across to seize Paris.
November 29, 1939- The French are mad. Once Paris was seized the government capitulated completely, and Petain was installed as head of what remains of France, with its capitol in Vichy. But the foolish French army refuses to put down arms for the most part, and so what seemed to be the most expedient solution to avoid bloodshed will instead result in more. Today the Italians join us and are a welcome ally in our struggle.
December 27, 1939- Even on Christmas Day they refused to stop fighting, but this evening the last of the French army was destroyed in Cholet. Without supplies their effectiveness was reduced, and in the Troyes pocket alone 34 French Divisions were crushed by a single Armee. Now it is time to rest and refit, and to try and make the English see reason in our common cause of Anti-Bolshivism. The Belgians and Hollanders refuse our legitimate conquests and have set up governments-in-exile in Africa and the South Pacific. Such stubborn foolishness.
December 28, 1939- Mussolini the fool! The smoke has not yet cleared from the French battlefield and he declares war on Greece! Are we to fly there on angel wings? A man barely capable of winning in Ethiopia grows suddenly brave at the worst time, and it is Germany that must deliver the impossible again.
January 29, 1940- In the West von Weichs commands a defense of 15 divisions against any British foolishness; currently this amounts to only harrassment bombing and is laughable. In the East Paulus commands a defense of 23 divisions against Stalin treachery, who is still digesting his Baltic meal. But with this stripping of forces, Rundstedt in the south has 60 divisions to resolve the Greek situation. There will not be a repeat of France and not enough divisions. The Fuehrer has decreed that Yugoslavia must yield to our needs for access to attack Greece, and if they will not grant this then we will stomp them flat on our way to Athens and give ourselves a Mediterranean port as a present. I suspect Rommel will be ecstatic at no longer relying on an Italian supply line, though with 9 divisions in Tobruk it seems all but secure at this point.
February 8, 1940- The Yogoslavians not only refuse to grant us passage, they give it to our Greek enemies. War is on their heads, not ours.
February 19, 1940- The battle for the mountains of Ljubljana raged for 6 days in the snow and ice, but today we drove out the last of the defenders. Even outnumbering the enemy 5 to 1 it was a near thing, and several corps must be withdrawn to rest and refit. General Student's Mountain Corps led the attack and thus suffered heavily; at last report his divisions had suffered nearly 50% casualties. Let us hope that this was the worst we will suffer in this campaign.
March 19, 1940- The Fuehrer is very angry at Mussolini. Today we annexed Yugoslavia after hard fighting and 53,000 casualties, yet the rewards were a port in the Med and the much needed Tirana oil fields. Somehow that pompous windbag managed to claim the one area we desired above all others in that region, and sits there like a fat child eating a candy. The Fuehrer can do nothing, as we need Mussolini to supply Rommel and keep the Allied navies busy. A small price to pay in that respect, but oil is still in short supply and we have but a weeks reserve. We need more.
April 2, 1940- The fight in Greece goes well, though all our work is for the Italians benefit only. There was some Croatian rumblings for an independent state, but they were quickly dispelled. To give up the hard-won ports is sheer madness, as today inaugerated the Split-Benghazi supply line across the Med! No longer are we reliant on Italian schedules, and we now are committed to supporting a North African campaign. Can Mid-east oil be far behind? For the sake of our armored units, I hope not.
